Page images
PDF
EPUB

at his loss was diminished by the circumstance that he would be removed from them no farther than to the neighbouring city of Limerick. Such mutual feelings, when not purchased by any sacrifice of principle or duty, are honourable to both parties, and open a way to results of incalculable importance. So far as the Irish clergy can secure this amiable disruption of prejudice by zeal, and love, and conciliation, and kind offices, either to the bodies or the souls of their Roman Catholic parishioners, it is both their duty and their privilege to endeavour to do so; but with equal earnestness should they guard against obliterating the distinctive principles of the Protestant church; a church built exclusively upon the Bible; which gives the Bible to all her members; and which, as her best boon to Ireland, would wish to see every peasant in that country taught to read the Scriptures, and possessing a copy of the Scriptures to read.

Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22. ByJ. FRANKLIN, Captain R. N., F.R.S. Published by Authority of the Earl of Bathurst. Second edition. 2 vols. Svo. London. 1824. 24s.

Few volumes of voyages or travels, we believe, have excited a more lively interest in the public mind than those which are to form the subject of our présent article. Nor do we think that this interest is likely soon to pass away. We should not be surprised if these volumes were to live as long, and be as generally perused, as Lord Anson's Voyage round the World; a work which, from its artless narrative, and affecting details of hardship and suffering, still continues to rivet the attention of every reader, though upwards of seventy years have now elapsed since its publication, and a constant series of novelties, in the

line of enterprise and discovery, has tended to obliterate the impression which it originally produced.

The popularity of Captain Franklin's "Narrative" is easily accounted for. It is the narrative of a journey through countries very little known, in search of that vast unexplored ocean which forms the northern boundary of America. The accounts of Hearne and Mackenzie confer the highest honour on their courage and enterprise, as travellers; but they are meagre and unsatisfactory when compared with the information afforded by the present volume. Captain Franklin enjoyed advantages of which they were entirely destitute. He was commissioned by the British Government; and his narrative comes before the public under the express sanction of its authority. Well furnished with recommendations to the two great trading companies in the neighbourhood of Hudson's Bay, he was sure of meeting with all possible facilities for the accomplishment of his arduous undertaking. The object of his expedition was, not merely to trace the northern coast of the American continent, but, if practicable, to form a junction with Captain Parry, who was at that time on a voyage of discovery in the same quarter. All these circumstances would have imparted á considerable interest to his journey, even though it had not contained a narrative of some of the most ex traordinary sufferings, hardships, and privations that ever were encountered: as it is, it has excited a strong and general sympathy in the public mind, which has far more than counterbalanced any disappointment arising from the failure of the original design of the expedition. This sympathy has been wrought up into feelings of the highest respect and admiration towards Captain Franklin and his four

He was accompanied by scientific men, qualified for collecting and communicating all the useful and interesting information which the journey might supply.

British companions. To the fortitude of the enterprising traveller, they appear to have added, what renders the volume to us ten-fold interesting, the piety of the serious Christian. They have given the world one more edifying example of the efficacy of religious principles, hopes, and prospects, in supporting the human mind under the severest bodily distresses, and enabling it to sustain them, not only without murmuring, but with cheerful resigna-, tion. Upon all these accounts, we are glad to see this work now published in a more portable and less expensive form than in the original edition; and we shall feel a real pleasure, should our review of it be the means of recommending it to the notice of any of our readers, who may not be fully acquainted with its merits.

Our limits will not permit us to follow the expedition step by step, through the successive stages of its progress: we must therefore, after the example of the epic poets, hasten into "the midst of things," pass over in silence the few incidents of the voyage outward, and join the travellers at York Factory, on the shores of Hudson's Bay, the point from which they commenced their journey into the interior.

.

Captain Franklin's expedition may be conveniently distributed into three parts; consisting of his journey northwards to Fort Enterprise, his progress thence to the mouth of the Coppermine River, and sea-voyage along the coast of the Arctic ocean,and his calamitous return across the barren grounds. It may be just premised, that the party embarked at Gravesend on the 23d of May, 1819, and, after some perils and delays, arrived at York Factory on the 30th of August following. It consisted at first of the following persons: Lieutenant (now Captain) Franklin, of the royal navy, the commander; Dr. Richardson, a navy surgeon; Mr. Buck, and Mr. Hood, admiralty midshipmen; and John Hepburn, an English sailor,

York Factory, one of the principal settlements of the Hudson's Bay Company, is situated in north latitude 57 deg. and west longitude 92 deg. 26 min. From this point, the travellers took at first a westerly direction, to Cumberland House, where they arrived in December, after a journey of about 690 miles. On the 19th of January, 1820, Captain Franklin, with Mr. Buck, and Hepburn the sailor, quitted Cumberland House, leaving Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood to spend the winter there, and afterwards to join them at Fort Chipewyan, partly by another route. At Carlton House, a distance from Cumberland of 260 miles, their expedition began to take a decidedly northern direction, and brought them, by way of Isle a la Crosse, to the above mentioned fort, after a farther journey of nearly 600 miles. They arrived at Fort Chipewyan, on the Athabascan Lake, in the latter end of March, and were joined there, on the 13th of July following, by Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood. On the 18th, the whole party proceeded northward, and arrived at Fort Providence, on the great Slave Lake, by the close of that month. Here dangers and difficulties began ́rapidly to increase upon them. The navigation of the rivers became more difficult, and the portages longer and more laborious. Their store of provisions also began to fall short; a circumstance which had nearly created a mutiny among the Canadian voyagers who accompa nied them. Their party had now increased to the number of twentyeight persons, including about twenty Canadian voyagers whom Captain Franklin had hired, with much difficulty, to enable him to proceed with the expedition. Of these, the greater number acted as carriers; some as hunters; two or three as interpreters. Here, too, they formed a connexion with a tribe of Copper Indians, chiefly for the purpose of obtaining supplies and information; of which latter, however, very little

that could be relied upon was com⚫ municated. Captain Franklin, having appeased his Canadians for the present, pushed forward, on a visit of observation, to the nearest point of the Coppermine River; but, finding the cold fast setting in, he returned, on the 13th of September, to a spot which they called, properly enough, Fort Enterprize. Here they erected a wooden house, and took up their winter quarters. It was not before the middle of June, in the following year (1821) that they were able to recommence their progress towards the Arctic ocean. They had now travelled from York Factory a distance of about 2200 miles, including their short excursion to the upper part of the Coppermine River.

The course which they followed throughout this long journey consists of one vast chain of lakes and rivers; not, however, uninterrupted, but broken by frequent portages, occasioned either by rapids or by the absence of a navigable stream. The conveyance of their baggage across these portages cost them immense pain and fatigue. The principal lakes which they touched upon, or traversed, were the Lake Winnipeg, the Athabasca and the Slave Lakes. The country through which they passed presents very various features; much primitive country; low alluvial grounds; thickly wooded tracts of pine, poplar, and willow. In some parts, -the banks of the rivers are bounded, on both sides, by hills of considerable elevation; in others, they present low plains of muddy soil, covered with wood; in others, they are broken into small sand-hills. Some parts are plentifully supplied with game. Besides deer, buffaloes, black and brown bears, and wolves are the principal quadrupeds. Between Slave Lake and Fort Enterprize the wood begins to be more scanty, and granitic formations to be more abundant. This part also is frequented by large herds of rein deer, who live on the various mosses with which the country abounds. It is well known that CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 266.

the climate in these parts is far more severe than at equal degrees of European latitudes. Over this vast central district of North America, lying to the east of the Rocky Mountains, are dispersed various tribes of Indians, distinguished by varieties of aspect and manners. They are scattered with that thinness of population which might be expected from the extreme rigour of the climate, and the scanty and precarious subsistence to be derived from hunting, which is almost their only occupation. Of these tribes the principal are the Cree, the Stone, the Chipewyan, and the Copper Indians. The latter border on the Esquimaux, who inhabit still more northerly districts, and of whom several traces were found on the coast of the Polar Sea. The Cree Indians inhabit the country in the vicinity of Cumberland House. The scantiness of their population may be estimated from the following circumstance; that a district, comprehending, on a rough calculation, upwards of 20,000 square miles, is frequented at present by only about 120 Indian hunters with their families. Yet, small as this population is, they are exposed to great suffering from cold, famine, and fatigue. They are also frequently attacked with hooping cough, measles, small pox, and other epidemical diseases, which keep their numbers rather in a state of diminution than increase. The goitre is a very common complaint among them. We shall here present our readers with a few extracts from Dr. Richardson's account of this tribe. The following passage exhibits a trait of mingled fortitude and feeling, which, in a savage, calls for admiration.

"One evening, early in the month of January, a poor Indian entered the NorthWest Company's house, carrying his only child in his arms, and followed by his starving wife. They had been hunting apart from the other bands, had been unsuccessful, and whilst in want were seized with the epidemical disease. An Indian is accustomed to starve, and it is not easy to elicit from him an account of Q

his sufferings. This poor man's story was very brief: as soon as the fever abated, he set out with his wife for Cumberland House, having been previously reduced to feed on the bits of skin and offal which remained about their encampment. Even this miserable fare was exhausted; and they walked several days without eating, yet exerting themselves far beyond their strength that they might save the life of the infant. It died almost within sight of the house. Mr. Conolly, who was then in charge of the post, received them with the utmost humanity, and instantly placed food before them; but no language can describe the manner in which the miserable father dashed the morsel from his lips, and deplored the loss of his child." Vol. I. pp. 93, 94.

"The Crees are a vain, fickle, improvident, and indolent race, and not very strict in their adherence to truth, being great boasters; but, on the other hand, they strictly regard the rights of property, are susceptible of the kinder affections, capable of friendship, very hospitable, tolerably kind to their women, and withal inclined to peace.

[ocr errors]

Much of the faulty part of their character, no doubt, originates in their mode of life accustomed as a hunter to depend greatly on chance for his subsistence, the Cree takes little thought of to-morrow; and the most offensive part of his behaviour-the habit of boasting-has been probably assumed as a necessary part of his armour, which operates upon the fears of his enemies. They are countenanced, however, in this failing, by the practice of the ancient Greeks, and perhaps by that of every other nation in its ruder state. Every Cree fears the medical or conjuring powers of his neighbour; but at the same time exalts his own attainments to the skies. I am god-like,' is a common expression amongst them; and they prove their divinityship by eating live coals, and by various tricks of a similar nature. A medicine bag is an indispensable part of a hunter's equipment. It is generally furnished with a little bit of indigo, blue vitriol, vermilion, or some other showy article; and is, when in the hands of a noted conjuror, such an object of terror to the rest of the tribe, that its possessor is enabled to fatten at his ease upon the labours of his deluded countrymen." Vol. I. pp. 97-99.

The following passage deserves to be inserted, both as it points out one principal cause of the backwardness of pagan and savage tribes to

listen to the instructions of Christianity, and as it exhibits an excep tion, in point of moral conduct, to what has been considered a vice radically inherent in barbarous nations.

"It might be thought that the Crees have benefited by their long intercourse with civilized nations. That this is not so much the case as it ought to be, is not entirely their own fault. They are capable of being, and I believe willing to be, taught; but no pains have hitherto been taken to inform their minds, and their White acquaintances seem in general to find it easier to descend to the Indian customs and modes of thinking, particularly with respect to women, than to attempt to raise the Indians to their's. Indeed such a lamentable want of morality has been displayed by the White traders, in their contests for the interests of their

respective companies, that it would require a long series of good conduct to efface from the minds of the native population the ideas they have formed of the White character. Notwithstanding the frequent violations of the rights of property they have witnessed, and but too often experienced in their own persons, these sahonest. During their visits to a post, vages, as they are termed, remain strictly they are suffered to enter every apartment in the house, without the least restraint; and although articles of value to them are scattered about, nothing is ever missed: They scrupulously avoid moving any thing from its place, although they are often prompted by curiosity to examine it. In ciple to a degree of self-denial which would some cases, indeed, they carry this prinhardly be expected. It often happens that meat, which has been paid for, (if the poisonous draught it procures them can be considered as payment,) is left at their lodges until a convenient opportunity rather pass several days without eating occurs of carrying it away. They will than touch the meat thus intrusted tọ their charge, even when there exists a prospect of replacing it." Vol. I. pp. 101

-103.

"Since these remarks were written, the union of the rival companies has enabled the gentlemen who have now the management of the fur trade, to take some decided

steps for the religious instruction und im

Indians, which have been more particularly provement of the natives and half-breed referred to in the introduction.

Our readers will be interested in the nature of the improvements alluded to in the note under the last extract. The following is our author's account of them, in the introduction to the second edition of his work; and it is highly to his honour, that, on his return to England, he strongly recommended to the Church Missionary Society the case of the wandering tribes among whom he had travelled, and excited great sympathy in their behalf.

"In the ensuing Narrative, the notices of the moral condition of the Indians as

influenced by the conduct of the traders towards them, refer entirely to the state in which it existed during our progress through the country; but lest I should have been mistaken respecting the views of the Hudson's Bay Company on these points, I gladly embrace the opportunity which a second edition affords me of stating, that the junction of the two companies bas enabled the Directors to put in practice the improvements which I have reason to believe they have long contemplated. They have provided for religious instruction by the appointment of two clergymen of the Established Church, under whose direction school-masters and mistresses are to be placed at such stations as afford the means of support for the establishment of schools. The offspring of the voyagers and labourers are to be educated chiefly at the expense of the Company; and such of the Indian children as their parents may wish to send to these schools, are to be instructed, clothed, and maintained at the expense of the Church Missionary Society, which has already allotted a considerable sum for these purposes, and it has also sent out teachers who are to act under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. West, the principal chaplain of the Company.

"We had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman at York Factory, and witnessed with peculiar delight the great benefit which had already marked his zealous and judicious conduct. Many of the traders, and of the servants of the Company, have been induced to marry the women with whom they had cohabited; a material step towards the improvement of the females in that country.

“Mr. West, under the sanction of the Directors, has also promoted a subscription for the distribution of the Bible in every part of the country where the Company's fur trade has extended, and which

has met with very general support from the resident chief factors, traders, and clerks. The Directors of the Company are continuing to reduce the distribution of spirits gradually among the Indians as well as their own" servants, s, with a view to the entire disuse of them as soon as this most desirable object can be accom plished. They have likewise issued orders for the cultivation of the ground at each of the posts, by which means the residents will be far less exposed to famine whenever, through the scarcity of animals, the sickness of the Indians, or any other cause, their supply of meat may fail.

"It is to be hoped that intentions so dear to every humane and pious mind, will, through the blessing of God, meet with the utmost success." Vol. I. pp. xvi-xix.

The account of the religious opinions of the Crees is important only as it may add one more instance of the prevalence of tradition concerning the universal deluge.

it is difficult to give a correct account, not "Of the religious opinions of the Crees, only because they shew a disinclination to enter upon the subject, but because their ancient traditions are mingled with the information they have more recently obtained, by their intercourse with Eu

ropeans.

None of them ventured to describe the original formation of the world; but they all spoke of an universal deluge, caused by an attempt of the fish to drown Woesack-ootchacht, a kind of demi-god with whom they had quarrelled. Having constructed a raft, he embarked with his family and all kinds of birds and beasts, After the flood had continued for some time, he ordered several water-fowl to dive to the bottom; they were all drowned but a musk-rat having been dispatched on the same errand, was more successful, and returned with a mouthful of mud, out of which Wosack-ootchacht, imitating the mode in which the rats construct their houses, formed a new earth. First, a small conical hill of mud appeared above the water; by-and-by, its base gradually spreading out, it became an extensive bank, which the rays of the sun at length hardened into firm land. Notwithstanding the power that Wosackootchacht here displayed, his person is held in very little reverence by the Indians; and, in return, he seizes every opportunity of tormenting them. His conduet is far from being moral." Vol. I. pp. 113, 114

At page 115, is a curious ac

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »